Chinese engineers on Wednesday started loading fuel into two nuclear reactors located in south China's Guangdong Province and east China's Zhejiang Province respectively. China General Nuclear Power Corporation (CGN), the operator of the facilities, announced that the Taipingling Nuclear Power Station in Huizhou, Guangdong, the first "Hualong One" project within the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, began loading the initial batch of nuclear fuel into its Unit 1 reactor at 17:48 on Wednesday. Shortly after, at 18:28, similar operations commenced at the Unit 1 reactor of the San'ao Nuclear Power Plant in Cangnan County, Zhejiang Province, the first such project in the Yangtze River Delta region. Initial fuel loading, which involves inserting fresh fuel assemblies into the reactor pressure vessel, is one of the most critical milestones prior to a nuclear power plant achieving grid connection and commercial operation.
Both projects employ China's independently developed third-generation nuclear technology, "Hualong One". Each site is planned to house pressurized water reactor units with a total installed capacity of around 6 million kilowatts. The two Unit 1 reactors are scheduled to enter commercial operation in the first half of 2026. Upon commissioning, each unit is expected to generate nearly 10 billion kilowatt-hours of clean electricity annually, sufficient to meet the annual electricity demand of about 1 million residents. That will result in the annual reduction of standard coal consumption by more than 3 million tons and of carbon dioxide emissions by 9.24 million tons per unit, equivalent to afforestation over an area of 22,500 hectares.
Fuel loading starts for 2 new nuclear reactors in Guangdong, Zhejiang
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday that he had a phone conversation with U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner to discuss the end to the conflict between Ukraine and Russia.
In a video statement posted to social media platform X, Zelensky said both sides have "good ideas for lasting peace". He stressed that Ukraine is working around the clock to bring closer the end to the conflict and to ensure that all documents and steps are "realistic, effective, and reliable."
The two sides discussed certain substantive details of the ongoing work, the Ukrainian president said, adding that they have "good ideas that can work toward a shared outcome and the lasting peace."
He expressed the hope that the understandings and the ideas discussed between the two sides can be useful.
Zelensky added that Rustem Umerov, head of the Ukrainian negotiating delegation and secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, held follow-up communication with Witkoff and Kushner later during the day.
The latest development came after Zelensky has recently unveiled a 20-point draft peace plan, which was agreed on by U.S. and Ukrainian negotiators and is being reviewed by Russia.
On the same day, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia is analyzing the peace proposal on Ukraine submitted by Russian special envoy Kirill Dmitriev, following his recent meeting with U.S. officials.
"We are analyzing these materials, and subsequently, in accordance with the decision made by the Head of State, we will continue consultations with the U.S. side," Peskov said.
Earlier, Peskov said Dmitriev had briefed President Vladimir Putin on the outcomes of his trip to Miami.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told at a press briefing on Thursday that negotiations with the United States are progressing "slowly but steadily."
She said that Russia is "ready to continue working within the framework defined at the highest level in Anchorage," referring to summit between President Putin and President Donald Trump in Alaska this August.
Zakharova also accused Western European states of "torpedoing" the diplomatic progress.
She also added that Russia is ready to formally state in a written document that it has no intention to attack NATO or EU countries.
Also on Thursday, Alexey Likhachev, director general of Russian nuclear corporation Rosatom, said his company had received information concerning the United States' willingness to cooperate with Russia on the issue of electricity supply from the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.
He said that some of the electricity from the Zaporizhzhia plant may be transmitted to Ukraine in the future, but the specific volume needs to be determined through negotiations.
Zelensky holds phone conversation with U.S. envoys as Russia analyzes peace proposal
